New Gadget To Boost Rural Mobile Broadband Speeds

UK company Deltenna have a developed a device aimed at speeding up mobile broadband access in rural parts of the country.

The Wireless Broadband Enabler (or WiBE as it’s currently known), is a small 18x13cm device that combines both a SIM-based 3G modem and a boosting phase array antenna.

The antenna tracks down the best available signal and provides users with an average mobile broadband speed of around 2Mb. Which although not the fastest available, will no doubt be welcomed by residents in “notspot” areas of the UK.

The WiBE device also includes a WiFi router which allows compatibility with other Wi-Fi enabled devices around the home. The WiBE can handle a max throughput of 7.2Mb, and in areas with a weak signal can deliver a data throughput 30x greater than that of a 3G USB modem dongle.

CEO of Deltenna, Andrew Fox commented:

“[It] uses the 3G mobile network to create a 2Mb web hotspot, even when a 3G mobile phone wouldn’t register a signal,” claimed the company.

The device has a connection range five times stronger than a standard mobile broadband dongle, allowing it to deliver a signal even in some “notspots”.

“There are still millions of people throughout Europe and the US for whom fast broadband is a myth.”

Deltenna have yet to release any details on the pricing of the product, but if proved successful, the WiBE could become a part of the government’s plans to deliver broadband speeds of at least 2Mb to all of the UK by 2012.